Training: What is Required↓

What is Required.

The current regulations require the Title IX personel (decision-maker, Title IX Coordinator, Investigators, Hearing Panel, etc.) to recieve training in the following:

• The definition of sexual harassment in § 106.30
  • "severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive" conduct that effectively denies a person equal educational access
  • quid pro quo harrassment
  • Clery/VAWA sex offensives
• How to conduct an investigation and grievance process including hearings, appeals, and informal resolution processes, as applicable, and
• How to serve impartially,

Impartiallity training should include

• Avoiding prejudgment of the facts at issue,
• Conflicts of interest, and
• Bias.

A recipient must ensure that decision-makers receive training on any technology to be used at a live hearing and on issues of relevance of questions and evidence, including when questions and evidence about the complainant’s sexual predisposition or prior sexual behavior are not relevant, as set forth in paragraph (b)(6) of this section.

A recipient also must ensure that investigators receive training on issues of relevance to create an investigative report that fairly summarizes relevant evidence, as set forth in paragraph (b)(5)(vii) of this section.

Trainings for Title IX personnel must be posted on the schools website. This has been revised in the regulations §106.45(b)(10)(i)(D). to ensure that a schools students, employees, and the public, understand the scope of the schools education program or activitty as it relates to Title IX.

A School may choose to assign these trainings through a third party.

Any materials used to train Title IX personnel and any person who facilitates an informal resolution process, cannot rely on sex stereotypes and must promote impartial investigations and adjudications.

Training: What is Recommended↓

What is Recommended.

Trainings for institutions should be up-to-date, research and expert advised, inclusive and trauma-informed.

These trainings should be well informed all around. The trainings should foucs on relevant and up-to-date information provided by reasearch and experts in IPV. This will ensure that the research is benificial to all parties and not biased toward any single party.

Trainings should also be inclusive. Trainings should focus on the whole of the student, this includes thier race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status,ethnicity and so on. Inclusive trainings are importaint to facilitate investigations and ajudications, as well as any Title IX process, without bias.

Trainings should be trauma-informed.

Incorporate Minimum Standards for Education of Staff

Institutions must provide primary prevention and awareness programs for all incoming students and new employees, along with ongoing prevention and awareness programs for current students and employees. For more information on the requirements for prevention education programs for faculty and staff, visit the Guiding Principles for Prevention and Education section.

Minimum Standards for Training for Campus Diciplinary and judicial Boards:

Review of Campus Code

• Prior to conducting training for campus disciplinary or judicial boards, a campus should review the current code of student conduct and ensure that the code:
• Is trauma centered, in that it recognizes the effects of trauma and minimizes the burdens often placed on victims/survivors
• Considers offender accountability
• Defines a clear and concise disciplinary process
• Defines uniform and consistent sanctions
• Identifies and clearly defines intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking
• Addresses privacy and confidentiality issues

General Training Topics

All members of campus disciplinary boards, including faculty, staff, students, and administrators should receive expert training on gender-based violence prevention and response. Training topics could include:

• Information about the causes and effects of gender-based violence.
• A review of the student conduct code
• Definitions of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking. For more information on Definitions, visit pages 22-26 of The NCCADV Guidance and Model Policy Documents
• Information on the issue of consent in sexual assault cases
• How to judge credibility
• Drug-facilitated sexual assault.
• The available range of sanctions should the alleged perpetrator(s) be found responsible by the disciplinary board

General Considerations

The structure of campus disciplinary boards or judicial boards varies widely. Some boards are made up of faculty and administration officials while others are comprised of student representatives. Campuses should design all trainings in close collaboration with experts on gender-based violence issues.

When designing and implementing training programs, campuses should consider the following issues:

• The differences between the processes of the criminal justice system and those involved in the academic judicial/disciplinary system
• Ensuring that the training is continuous and ongoing so that all new members of the judicial/disciplinary boards receive information, especially if the board is appointed on a rotation
• Maintaining retention of “trained” board members given the complexities and difficulties of such cases
• Creating training that is effective and does not “promote bias” for either victims/survivors or offenders
• Ensuring that all judicial/disciplinary cases are pursued in the same manner, regardless of who the complaintant and/or respondent may be
• Confidentiality issues
• Working with law enforcement officials from the local jurisdiction
• States laws on sexual and intimate partner violence and stalking:

  • Domestic Violence
  • Sexual Violence

Specific Training Topics

When developing trainings for disciplinary or judicial boards, campuses should also address the following specific topics:

• Reasons why victims/survivors may or may not choose (and/or wait) to report
• Ways that the disciplinary system can re-traumatize victims/survivors
• The importance of avoiding blaming victims/survivors
• Recognizing the unavoidable presence of unconscious, implicit bias, and strategies for recognizing and mitigating the impact of such biases. Review of general IPV information including issues of power and control.
• Dating violence as a form of intimate partner violence, including relevant laws
• “Known” perpetrator sexual assault
• Characteristics of stalking in a campus environment

Minimum Standards for Camous Security Personnel

It is recommended that institutions train campus police to respond effectively in intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking cases. The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) recommends that training programs should be developed in collaboration with campus or community-based victim/survivor advocacy programs and should include information about:

• Relevant federal and state laws (above) and arrest protocols
• Information on enforcement of orders of protection
• Instruction on making primary aggressor determinations

General Training Topics

OVW recommends that campus security personnel trainings incorporate as many of the following general topics addressing intimate partner violence as possible:

• Working with law enforcement officials from neighboring jurisdictions
• Jurisdictional issues
• Confidentiality issues
• Risk assessment for parties
• Crime scene preservation and evidence collection
• Interviewing techniques for working with victims/survivors and avoiding “victim blaming.” Victim-blaming is when a victim/survivor is treated as though they are completely or partially responsible for the unlawful action(s) perpetrated against them.
• Probable cause as it relates to intimate partner violence cases
• Review of the student code of conduct and judicial/disciplinary process on campus
• Information on enforcement of orders of protection including full faith and credit issues
• Arrest protocols
• Working with advocates and advocacy groups, including clarification of roles and responsibilities
• Availability of local services for complaintants and local training resources

Intimate Partner Violence Considerations

OVW recommends that campus security personnel training on intimate partner violence includes the following specific topics:

• Officer safety when responding to intimate partner violence calls
• Recognizing the unavoidable presence of unconscious, implicit bias, and strategies for recognizing and mitigating the impact of such biases. Review of general IPV information including issues of power and control.
• Laws of search and seizure
• Avoiding mutual arrests so that complaintants are not held legally and criminally accountable for their respondents' actions
• Relevant federal and state statutory firearms prohibitions and seizure policies including protection order provisions
• Definitions of intimate partner violence and its effects
• Making predominant aggressor determinations including, interfacing with and interviewing primary/predominant aggressors.

Sexual Assault Considerations

OVW recommends that campus security personnel training on sexual assault include the following specific topics:

• Specific procedures for sexual assault exams and for evidence collection at the crime scene
• “Known” perpetrator investigations
• Communicating with victims/survivors about the course of the investigation
• Appropriate interviewing techniques when questioning sexual assault victims/survivors
• Appropriate discussion with the victims/survivor regarding prosecution decisions
• Specifics of rape trauma syndrome and its effects on victims/survivors
• Relevant rape shield laws
• Departmental decisions on how appropriately to handle victims/survivors who are facing issues of other violations in connection with their assault – such, as underage consumption or marijuana and other illegal substance possession.
• Coordination between campus security personnel and campus health units or local hospitals working with Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner protocols.

Stalking Considerations

OVW recommends that campus security personnel training on stalking include the following specific topics:

• Properly understanding stalking as a crime
• Methods to help officers/detectives identify stalking cases more effectively
• Orders of protection and their effectiveness in a campus environment
• Issues surrounding cyberstalking as the misuse of campus computers/property. Officers should be encouraged to be familiar with campus policies on computer use and what constitutes violations of the student conduct code
• How to document stalking violations by keeping notes, tracking phone calls, and collecting evidence to support the complaintant's account of the incidents.
• For model campus stalking policies, visit The NCCADV Guidance and Model Policy Documents and Responding to Stalking on Campus: The Model Stalking Policy from the National Center for Victims of Crime

Campuses should carefully coordinate and plan training sessions for campus security personnel, and should design all trainings in close collaboration with experts on gender-based violence issues. The emphasis of the trainings should be that the response to victims/survivors needs to be timely, appropriate, sensitive, and respectful. Programs should work closely with campus security personnel to schedule convenient programming events to ensure attendance by the maximum number of officers.

Possible Challenges

In designing training programs for campus security personnel, campuses should be flexible and earnestly consider the following possible challenges:

• Recognize that some campuses must work with public safety units, not campus “police,” and that some public safety officers are “non-sworn.” As first responders on a case, public safety officers have the ability to request mutual aid from the jurisdiction of record and the appropriate investigative law enforcement agency.
• Provide training that is Police Officer Standard Training (POST) certified or training that is required in the jurisdiction in order for officers to receive credit towards meeting their continued education requirements.
• Determine whether a longer training on broad topics such as intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking is preferable to a series of trainings on specific topics such as drug-facilitated rape cases or cyberstalking.
• Coordinate training, easing competition for time, by working with other campus police “trainers” to infuse gender-based violence issues in other areas of ongoing and pre-scheduled routine training.
• Include, if possible, in every training, a cross section of supervisors, patrols, and detectives. This will help ensure that the information is given to all levels of rank and will facilitate the institutionalization of training protocols and procedures.
• Promote effective collaboration and community-wide participation in all training events addressing intimate partner violence on campus.

Additional Recommendations for Campus Law Enforcement Training

Participate in Trauma-Informed and Social Justice/Racial Justice Oriented Training

When campus law enforcement and security officers are aware of common trauma reactions, they better understand the reasons behind victim/survivor behavior. Trauma-informed interviewing helps elicit pertinent information about the assault/incident and the victim’s/survivor’s experience. Social justice/racial justice oriented training helps officers better understand how historical trauma and systemic oppression impact survivors from oppressed and marginalized groups. All of this information leads to more successful investigations.

THE NATURE OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE CRIMES REQUIRES PREVENTION MESSAGING THAT IS BASED ON IDENTIFYING SUSPICIOUS PREDATORY BEHAVIORS, RATHER THAN CHANGING POTENTIAL VICTIM/SURVIVOR BEHAVIORS.

• The training should cover the neurobiology of trauma and trauma-informed interviewing techniques should be highlighted. Specifically, officers should learn how trauma impacts brain functioning and the ways this affects victims’/survivors’ actions during an assault, their behavior and decision making after an assault, and how they remember and report the assault.
• All trainings should be social justice/racial justice oriented and reflect the understanding that gender-based violence is rooted in oppression. Information on culturally relevant interviewing techniques should be highlighted. Additional content should include dismantling barriers that marginalized groups face when seeking help and working with survivors in culturally relevant and inclusive ways.
• Staff members responsible for the training schedule should ensure training on gender-based violence issues is regular and ongoing. Whenever appropriate, the content should also be integrated into other trainings to reinforce the information.
• The training coordinator should ensure that trainings are planned in collaboration with community-based sexual and domestic violence agencies and campus-based advocates (if applicable). Community-based agencies often have experience training law enforcement officers and other allied professionals on these issues. Along with campus-based advocates, they might also have a sense of how victims/survivors experience the system and where breakdowns commonly occur.

Students directly involved in the Title IX and/or campus disciplinary process should have access to trained advisors. Both processes are complicated and overwhelming to all students involved. Advisors help students understand the process, assist them in preparing for interviews and hearings, and provide valuable support during the process.

Title IX coordinators and/or campus disciplinary professionals should:

• Recruit a diverse pool of advisors. For students of color, LGBTQI+ students, and students from other oppressed and marginalized groups, being able to work with a safe and nonjudgmental advisor can be the determining factor in the student’s participation.
• Suggest advisors who have special training and explain the pros and cons of working with non-trained advisors. In the end, though, students should be able to choose their own advisor. Forcing students to work with an advisor they do not want is disempowering, unhelpful, and can damage their trust in the process.
• Inform advisors of their role and behavior expectations prior to the hearing and hold them accountable during the hearing. All advisors should have the same role and any limits placed on a victim’s/survivor’s advisor should also be placed on the respondent’s advisor. If the institution and/or the law allows attorneys to serve as advisors, their role should be the same as every other advisor’s role.

Response: What is Required↓

What is Required.

The current regulations revised § 106.44(a) to specify school's responses must:

• be prompt;
• ensure that the Title IX Coordinator contacts each complaintant to offer supportive measures;
• consider the complainant’s wishes regarding supportive measures and inform the complainant of the availability of supportive measures with or without the filing of a formal complaint;
• explain the process for filing a formal complaint to a complaintant; and
• equitably respond to complainants and respondents, (for a complainant: the recipient must offer supportive measures, and for a respondent: the recipient must follow a grievance process that complies with § 106.45 before imposing disciplinary sanctions.)

The current regulations cite the Supreme Court Cases Gerber and Davis to give guidance on when school would be considered discrimitory for their lack of response in § 106.44(a). This guidance framework is divided into three parts:

• First: There must be an incident involving any conduct “severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive” that effectively denies a person equal educational access.

The new regulations also include quid pro quo sexual harassment and any Clery Act and/or VAWA sex offenses to be sufficent without evaluating those offenses based on their severity, pervasiveness, or their objective offensiveness.

• Second: That a schools response must be triggered by the institution's actual knowledge of the incident.

• Third: That the schools response and the manner in which they responded does not fall below the deliberately indifference libability standard.

If the school fails to respond after they are given actual knowledge or the schools response is considered to be deliberately different or below that standard, then the school is in violation of the Title IX regualtions and warrants money damages in a Title IX lawsuit. Comments on page 30032.

A report may be made by “any person” who believes that sexual harassment may have occurred and requires a recipient’s response.§ 106.8(a).

Actual Knowledge is defined by the new regulations as notice to the school's Title IX Coordinator or to "any official of the recipient who has authority to institute corrective measures on behalf of the recipient"(officials with authority). This notice triggers the school's response obligations.

Deliberate Indifference Standard in § 106.44(a) is defined as when an institution's response to sexual harassment on their campus is “clearly unreasonable in light ofthe known circumstances."

The new regulations hope that the deliberate indifference standard will allow schools to provide access to supportive measures and other accomodaiton to complaintants, without treating a respondent as responsible until after a fair grievance process.

In addition, school's must document their reasons why each response to sexual harassment was not deliberately indifferent.

Response: What is Recommended↓

What is Recommended.

Clear, transparent communication is integral to complaintants trust in the system, is a cornerstone of a trauma-informed approach, and ensures survivors are more likely to participate in the process. Clear and consistent communication also helps to minimize feelings of anger and betrayal related to the process.

Title IX coordinators should:

• Create procedures that include clear, up-front communication with complaintants. Specifically, whoever meets with a complaintant first should explain who else will be involved, what each person’s role is, and a general timeline of expected steps. This information should also be provided in written form.

• Identify a contact person/liaison to maintain clear communication with all parties throughout the process. Even when there is no new information, the act of contacting complaintant reassures them that their case has not been forgotten. If the institution utilizes a separate hearing process from the Title IX investigation, the head of the campus disciplinary process should ensure communicating with survivors is a key component of someone’s job.

Support Students who Request No Action

A school should institute trauma-informed responses to complaintants' requests for confidentiality and/or no action following a report of IPV. Disregarding complaintants requests for confidentiality disempowers them and can reduce reporting rates throughout the institution. There are many reasons why a complaintant may request confidentiality, may not want the institution to take action, or may change their mind during the process.

Complaintants often fear retaliation, even when they are told the institution prohibits retaliation. This is particularly relevant to complaintants who are part of the same community or in a relationship with the perpetrator. Complaintants may fear other consequences related to marginalized or oppressed identities - consequences such as being rejected by their community, being outed, or being mistreated during the process.

When managing requests for no action, Title IX Coordinators should honor parties request for confidentiality and/or no action whenever possible. Title IX coordinators should only override requests when the potential threat to overall community safety outweighs the negative impact on the parties. Per the Office of Civil Rights, these situations should generally involve an increased risk of the perpetrator committing additional acts of violence, an increased risk of future violence in a similar circumstance, or an increased level of danger such as the presence of a weapon or excessive use of violence.

If the decision to override such a request must be made, the Title IX Coordinator should:

• Have transparent policies and procedures for overriding the request for confidentiality and/or no action. They should make this information public and easily accessible. Complaintants have the right to know what will happen to their information before they choose to share it. They also have the right to know they can request confidentiality when they disclose information. This way, Complaintants can make informed choices and hold decision makers accountable to the policy.
• Collaborate with parties on a case by case basis. Such actions should only be taken after consultation with complaintants and their advocates regarding the particular incident(s) in question. When Title IX Coordinators can gather information without revealing complaintants identities, they should pursue those options first.
• Inform the complaintant before taking any action. Coordinators should work with advocates to safety plan with parties and take all available steps to minimize negative impacts on them.

Partner with Local Experts

NCCADV recommends that institutions utilize and partner with the existing expertise of those in your community as you enhance your campus’s services to students. A list of local experts might include:

• Campus advocates
• Campus and community-based, culturally-specific resources
• Campus and local law enforcement
• Campus response team
• Community and campus counseling services
• Community Sexual Violence (SV) and Domestic Violence (DV) centers
• Disability Services
• LGBTQI+ Center
• North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV)
• North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NCCASA)
• Title IX Coordinator, Deputy Coordinators, Assistant Coordinators, Investigators, and otherTitle IX-related staff

List Clear and Appropriate Sanctions

Identify possible sanctions that the college/university may impose following a final determination of institutional disciplinary proceeding regarding IPV, stalking, and sexual violence. Appropriate sanctions for IPV, stalking, and sexual violence offenses include, but are not limited to the following:

• Changes in Academic Schedule: Requiring the responding party to make changes in class schedule to ensure that no classes are shared with the victim/survivor.
• Community Restitution: Requiring the responding party to perform a certain number of service hours either on-campus or in the community. It is not appropriate to send them to an office that regularly works with victims/survivors such as a counseling center, women’s center, student health or DV/SA office.
• Educational Intervention: Requiring the responding party to participate in online and/or physical classes addressing issues such as IPV, stalking, and sexual violence. This may include facilitating a program, creating educational posters regarding institutional policies and student conduct, or writing a paper.
• Expulsion: A permanent separation from the institution that involves denial of all student privileges, including entrance to the institution premises and matriculation. Expulsions are permanently recorded on a student’s transcript.
• Probation: A status that indicates either serious misconduct not warranting expulsion, suspension, or removal of institutional privileges, or repetition of misconduct after a warning has been imposed.
• Referral for Assessment or Counseling: Requiring the responding party to meet with a staff member of the health or counseling center to have an assessment of their mental health and lifestyle choices. The health or counseling center may also recommend further evaluation and participation in counseling services. This health or counseling center may be on or off campus.
• Removal of College Privileges: Restrictions on the responding party’s access to certain locations, functions, organizations, teams, and/or activities; does not preclude the respondent from continuing their academic program.
• Removal or Non-Renewal of Scholarships: Institution-administered scholarships are not awarded or are not renewed to students that have violated the student code of conduct.
• Residential Reassignment: Removes the responding party from current residence and reassigns to a new room. Specific restrictions on access to one’s previous residence may be imposed.
• Restitution/Fines: The responding party may be fined for violations of the policies and procedures outlined by the institutions. The individual may be required to make a payment to the institution and/or another person or group for damages incurred as a result of the violation.
• Suspension: A temporary separation from the institution that involves denial of all student privileges, including entrance to campus premises, and may include conditions for reinstatement, such as successful completion of a counseling or treatment program. A warning of actual suspension may be imposed if counseling or treatment is not successfully completed. Suspensions are permanently recorded on a student’s transcript.
• Termination of Residency: Loss of on-campus housing, without refund, and/or dining privileges, permanently or for a specified period of time.
• Transcript Entry: May be implemented on its own or in combination with another sanction. The entry will indicate that a student was found responsible for IPV, stalking, and/or sexual violence. Expulsions and suspensions are also permanently recorded on a student’s transcript.
• Withholding of Degree: The institution maintains the right to withhold the awarding of a degree otherwise earned until the completion of any imposed sanctions.

Investigation and Resolution: What is Required↓

What is Required.

The current regulations require

• Specify Conduct Proceedings:

The Campus SaVE Act. clarifies minimum standards for institutional disciplinary procedures covering IPV, stalking, and sexual violence.

Institutions must adopt and disclose policies that:

• Address possible sanctions or protective measures that may result from an institutional disciplinary proceeding.

• State the standard of evidence (which under current Title IX guidelines is ‘preponderance of the evidence’ or ‘more likely than not’).

• Provide a prompt, fair, and impartial investigation and resolution.

• Proceedings must be conducted by officials who receive annual training on all forms of interpersonal violence (which includes IPV, stalking, and sexual violence and harassment), including how to conduct an investigation, protect the safety of victims/survivors, and promote accountability.

• Require that both the reporting and responding party are entitled to the same opportunities to have others present, including the opportunity to be accompanied to any related meeting or proceeding by an advisor of their choice (an institution may not meet this requirement by denying both parties the right to an advisor). Further, 2013 NC Law allows responding parties from UNC System institutions to have full representation by an attorney.

For more information on the UNC System, visit the Policy Manual for UNC System Schools: The UNC System issued transmittal letter #86 on August 27, 2013, updating the policy for minimum substantive and procedural standards for student disciplinary proceedings for all UNC System Campuses.

• Do not limit the choice of advisor for either the reporting party or the responding party; however, the institution may establish restrictions regarding the extent to which the advisor may participate in the proceedings, as long as the restrictions apply equally to both parties and comply with state law.

• Require that both the reporting party and the responding party shall be simultaneously informed, in writing, of the following:

  • The outcome of any institutional disciplinary proceeding, including the behavior alleged (or policy violation), the decision, the sanction and the rationale therefore;
  • The procedures for the reporting party and the responding party to appeal the results of the proceeding;
  • Any change to the results; and
  • When such results become final.

Discribe the Appellate Procedures:

Each institution must describe the appellate procedures (if appeals are permitted), including:

• Grounds for appeal
• Standards of review
• The person/entity that will decide appeals
• The applicable, reasonably prompt time frames

Each party’s right to appeal will be clearly specified in the final decision letter. However, appeals should be established to correct something that went wrong, not to obtain a second opinion.

Appeals must be based on allegations that the party was denied some substantive or procedural due process right guaranteed to them or other right outlined in these policies, or for presentation of information that was unknown or unknowable at the time of the original investigation. Parties should not be able to appeal a disciplinary proceeding result simply because they do not agree with the outcome.

The Office for Civil Rights recommends that the institution allow at least one level of institutional appeal to be heard by an individual or group who have received specific training in IPV and other forms of gender-based violence. Under no circumstance should a finding of suspension or dismissal be “stayed” pending the outcome of an appeal.

Investigation and Resolution: What is Recommended↓

What is Recommended.

Review the Code of Conduct

Prior to conducting training for campus disciplinary or judicial boards, a campus should carefully review the current code of student conduct and ensure that the code:

• Is victim/survivor-centered, in that it recognizes the effects of trauma and minimizes the burdens often placed on victims/survivors
• Considers offender accountability
• Defines a clear and concise disciplinary process
• Defines uniform and consistent penalties for findings of responsibility
• Identifies and clearly defines IPV, sexual assault, and stalking
• Addresses confidentiality issues

Carefully Consider the use of Character Witness

A character witness is a person who attests to another’s moral conduct and reputation in the disciplinary proceeding. Character witnesses are not required as part of the hearing process. NCCADV recommends that character witnesses not be used as part of the hearing process. If you choose to use them, however, both the reporting party and the responding party must have an equal opportunity to present character witnesses.

Retaliation: What is Required↓

What is Required.

Under the current regulations § 106.71 , Retaliation is expressly prohibited.

Retaliation against a person for exercising any right or privilege secured by Title IX or its implementing regulations is never acceptable. The Supreme Court has held that retaliation for complaining about sex discrimination is, itself, intentional sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX.

No school or other person shall intimidate, threaten, coerce, or discriminate against any individual for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege secured by Title IX or its implementing regulations, or because the individual has made a report or complaint, testified, assisted, or participated or refused to participate in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under Title IX and its implementing regulations.

• Prevent and Address Retaliation:

Neither the school nor any of its constituents (students, staff, etc.) may retaliate against a victim/survivor in any way following a report of IPV. When a school knows or reasonably should know of possible retaliation by other students or third parties, it must take immediate and appropriate steps to investigate or otherwise determine what occurred.

Retaliation is not always direct. It also includes indirect behavior that targets and harms the victim/survivor, like online harassment, maligning rumors or gossip, or third-party/proxy stalking. Considering that students can experience retaliation as a result of reporting an incident, schools should ensure that reporting students and their support network, if appropriate, know how to report any subsequent problems. Schools should follow up regularly with reporting students to determine whether any retaliation or new incidents of harassment have occurred. Students should also be informed about how to report retaliation through an easily accessible university/college incident reporting system.

Retaliation: What is Recommended↓

What is Recommended.

Offer the Option of a Mutual Agreement

A respondent may choose to waive their right to a disciplinary conference or hearing, to accept responsibility for violations of the Code of Student Conduct, and to accept a sanction determined by a staff member in the Office of Student Conduct.

The following procedures apply for resolution by Mutual Agreement:

• Upon being presented with the information regarding the charge(s), and providing a response to the charge(s), the respondent may accept responsibility and engage in a discussion about any factors that could impact sanctioning.
• The staff member in the Office of Student Conduct will take into consideration any factors affecting possible sanctions and will determine appropriate sanctions to be presented to the respondent.
• The respondent will be allowed to ask questions of the hearing officer regarding the suggested sanctions and will be permitted two (2) business days to consider the agreement. The respondent may be represented by an attorney or other advocate in accordance with the school’s specific policy/regulation and seek any outside counsel in making a decision to sign the Mutual Agreement.
• The respondent may sign the Mutual Agreement, indicating an acceptance of responsibility for the allegation(s) and the sanctions. As a condition of entering into the agreement, a respondent waives their right to appeal the decision and sanctions.
• The respondent may decide against signing the Mutual Agreement and may continue with the resolution of their case through the completion of another appropriate conduct process.